There is much to savour here. If this is a swansong, it's most definitely a worthy one. [Nov 2017, p.104]

These 20 songs unfold with mostly spartan acoustic guitar and voice arrangements, near-segueing from one to the other But the cumulative emotional impact is profound. [Summer 2019, p.117]

This remarkable album's impact resides in its sound; the lyrics, when they can be deciphered, are standard she-left-me stuff. [June 2008, p.147]

In the end, though, to fixate on these 33 songs' serial flaws and occasional bad odours is to miss the essential point. The music amounts to a compelling period piece. [July 2008, p.116]

An album that repeatedly pulls you back in to try and decipher its charms. [Nov 2015, p.111]

A pure pleasure. [July 2008, p.101]

Fierce, honest and a challenge to the forces of obsolescence, Dirty Computer feels like a vital upgrade from a true renegade. [Jul 2018, p.110]

As warm, strange and enchantingly off-key as the title suggests. [May 2007, p.127]

His production is masterful enough to demonstrate just why he is hip hop's hottest new property. [May 2004, p.111]

Hardcore aficionados might doggedly stick to the original but for new fans, it's a treat. [Mar 2018, p.107]

At 41 minutes, Blackstar is a more concise statement than The Next Day and a a far, far more intriguing one, enticing you to follow Bowie further down this freshly-rediscovered, individualistic path where sonic surprises lurk around every corner--a journey that, at times, is not for the faint of heart. [Jan 2016, p.104]

MBV isn't perfect; sometimes the songs do drag, but the brilliant moments are so brilliant, and the exciting moments so exciting that you'll forgive them. [Apr 2013, p.108]

A beguiling, constantly surprising record. [Jul 2019, p.113]

These are controlled, tempered, well-steered songs, capable of navigating genres. [Oct 2016, p.104]

Expanding your sound without losing your edge is a tough trick to pull off, but Hookworms manage it with inner space to spare. [Mar 2018, p.111]

The results are excellent. [Oct 2015, p.110]

Where recent albums have felt more like protracted jam sessions -- impressive, if not actually exciting -- this has renewed sparkle, raiding indie-pop territory with harmonies, hand-claps and even the odd acoustic guitar.

There's a new sense of darkness and despair at their core. [Dec 2003, p.124]

Seems to focus more on Dizzee's virtuosity as a producer than a rapper, and teems with exotic noises, odd rhythmic loops and unexpected shifts in mood. [Sep 2004, p.112]

These records might not eclipse Channel Orange, but they have their own mercurial gleam, mapping the spaces between people, reaching for a hazy intimacy that almost feels real. [Nov 2016, p.112]

These 11 songs are unashamedly informed by her maternal role in its varying facets of joy, growth, complexity and, on the self-explanatory So Tired, exhausting labour. But it also ranges more wildly. [Mar 2018, p.107]

The 50-year-old's songwriting blue streak continues on Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!, a triumphant album that merits all three exclaimation marks. [Apr 2008, p.105]

The RCA Albums Collection remains the final word on the most consummate singer-songwriter of his generation. [Sep 2013, p.111]

It's undoubtedly a sad voice she presents on Reward, but one that is unlike anyone else's. [Jul 2019, p.107]

It's bracing stuff. [Mar 2014, p.110]

Thick, claggy basslines anchor them alongside The Fall a their most pulverising. .... The debut's best moments, however, are when they push against what a post-punk band should be. [Aug 2020, p.109]

Too Bright finds him more sparky and more mettled. [Nov 2014, p.116]

Thanks to digital tweaking, boy does it capture them swinging and the four bonus songs are most welcome too. [Oct 2016, p.115]